Founded in 1888, the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company located on Tacoma's tideflats was one of the largest lumber companies in the Pacific Northwest. Railroad cars have brought logs to the log holding area, called a log dump, in August of 1946. The company's plant is seen in the background. To the right of the buildings is a long ramp that conveys the logs into the facility from the holding pond. Lumber was still king in the late '40s among Tacoma industries. About 100 plants were involved in the production of raw lumber or finished lumber products. Lumber was needed to build millions of homes and buildings. The plywood industry was progressing with more and more uses found for the product and pulp was used for heavy wrapping paper, explosives and rayon. The lumber industry provided employment for thousands including the 1,000 working for St. Paul & Tacoma. (T.Times 8-30-46, p. 12-article on lumber industry)

Logs; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

On July 30, 1946 seven children including Shirley Maras (now Walcott) (far left), Kenny Schumaker (third from left), Sharon Maras (now Gregg) (standing at top) and Marilyn Maras (now Cade)(far right) were photographed with a huge tree section that was cut from an old-growth Douglas fir that had been felled by loggers working for the Davis and Maras Company. The tree section which weighed 18,567 pounds and was over 13 feet in diameter was on its way to the Northwest Door Company in Tacoma owned by Herman E. Tenzler. Once there a gigantic slice was cut from it and put on display outside the Northwest Door entrance. Some years later the display slice of Douglas fir was moved to the Tenzler Library in Lakewood. (TNT 8/21/1946, pg. 1) (names supplied by Anthony "Spike" Maras) TPL-8386

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Children playing outdoors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Logs; Northwest Door Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Tree stumps--Tacoma--1940-1950; Schumaker, Kenny; Maras, Shirley; Maras, Marilyn; Maras, Sharon;

St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company. Several railroad cars loaded with logs are standing in the yard at the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company. Large off-highway trucks, too large for state highways, brought logs down from forests to reload centers where logs were shipped to mills by railroad cars or on smaller trucks. This site of St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber was used as a large pulp mill.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company. Several railroad cars loaded with logs are standing in the yard at the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company. The railroad tracks run from further inland directly to and through the plant.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

Launching of "Hustler." The young sponsor of the new fishing boat stands at the prow of the ship holding a bouquet of roses in June of 1945. U.S. flags drape the upper and lower decks. The 61.9-foot vessel was built by Western Boat Building. After completion, the trawler was destined for Ketchikan, Alaska.

Launchings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Fishing boats--Tacoma--1940-1950; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Western Boat Building Co. (Tacoma); Flags--United States;

Clark residence, interior for D.F.P.A. A workman completes sanding the joint between two sheets of plywood on an interior wall. Plywood was used in home construction for its insulative qualities on both ceilings and walls. The Douglas Fir Plywood Association, headquartered in Tacoma, represented the entire fir plywood industry and promoted plywood nationally. (T.Times, 1/9/1946)

Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma);

General Mills plant. Exterior view of the hay, grain, feed and seed retail business outlet for General Mills. Trucks and an automobile are parked along side. TPL-6518

Agricultural industries--Tacoma; World War, 1939-1945--Economic & industrial aspects--Tacoma; General Mills, Inc., Farm Service Division (Tacoma);

Air Reduction Sales interior of plant. In 1942 Air Reduction Sales Co. opened up a oxygen gas production plant. Oxygen gas is used in large quantities for cutting steel plates in ship building and it is also used in welding. The plant will be able to support the war effort by producing the chemical necessary for government vessels, and making it available locally.

Factories--Tacoma; Machinery; Storage tanks--Tacoma; Air Reduction Sales Co. (Tacoma);

Interior of office, Great Northern. Employees help individuals including two nuns and a soldier with tickets and travel plans. Other employees handle other work at their desks. (alternate address 112-18 So. 9th)

Railroads--Tacoma--1940-1950; Great Northern Railway Co. (Tacoma); Ticket offices--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Hooker Electro-Chemical parking area. One of the buildings at the far end of the parking lot and the water tower remind workers of "Safety First". Hylebos waterway can be seen in the background as well as cranes used for loading and unloading materials from ships and barges.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma);

Hooker Electrochemical parking area. This view shows the Hylebos waterway and a ship moored at the company's dock. Railroad tracks run through the plant to make more transportation accessible. TPL-2489.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma);

Televed, Inc., Railway Exchange Building, Chicago, Illinois, for Mr. D.A. Highet. A gasoline-powered generator, on a movable housing made for riding on railroad tracks sits on one set of track while an engine and railroad cars head toward the camera from the opposite direction.

Railroad tracks; Railroads; Electric generators;

Machinery at Cammarano Brothers bottling company, Phillip Cammarano. The Cammarano Brothers were bottlers of beer and other carbonated beverages. Four brothers owned and operated the facility, Phillip J., James J., and William B., and Edward J. Cammarano.

Bottling industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cammarano Bros. (Tacoma);

Timber Fabrication Co. was building prefabricated materials for mass productions of commercial and residential structures. Pre-fabrication had advantages, it offered overall savings on materials and rapid production of structures. View of building progress on building by Timber Fabrication Co. with consulting engineers, William D, Smith and Clyde E. Murray.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Prefabricated buildings--Tacoma; Progress photographs; Timber Fabrication Co. (Tacoma);

Douglas Fir Plywood Association. A farmer leans against his new plywood silo standing next to his barn. A conveyor belt loader leans against the top of the silo.

Farmers--Puyallup; Silos--Puyallup; Plywood;

ca. 1946. The unveiling of the giant cross section of a tree trunk at the Northwest Door Company. In the summer of 1946, Northwest Door Co. cut down this tremendous old growth Douglas Fir tree southwest of Mt. Rainier. They shipped a cross section of the stump to their Tacoma plant. The tree was almost 14 feet in diameter. The small signs on either side of the section of tree show what years each ring represents and events that occurred that year. A crowd turned out in the rain to watch the unveiling of the log. The cross section of fir was moved in 1965 to the Lakewood branch of the Pierce County Library system.

Logs; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Northwest Door Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Tree stumps--Tacoma--1940-1950;

For I.W. Johnson Engineering Company. An interior view of a sawmill near Packwood, Washington. A large, radial-arm saw, upper center, cuts lumber to length. A narrow conveyor belt seen in the foreground moves lumber through the mill.

Saws; Mills--Packwood--1940-1950; Logs; Lumber industry--Packwood--1940-1950; Woodcutting--Packwood--1940-1950;

For I.W. Johnson Engineering Company. An interior view of a sawmill near Packwood, Washington. Logs just delivered to the mill have already been cut into convenient lengths (usually 32 feet) for the machines that will have the next go at cutting the logs into lumber. (Fortune Magazine, April 1934)

Saws; Mills--Packwood--1940-1950; Logs; Lumber industry--Packwood--1940-1950; Woodcutting--Packwood--1940-1950;

An interior view of a sawmill near Packwood, Washington. Large logs are stacked on the left while two men operate the "head-rig", one to the right and one in the center, background. The log is being broken down. Running the "head-rig" is a two person operation. The "sawyer", in the center right, stands beside the carriage on which the log is clamped and as the carriage swings the log into the teeth of the saw he signals, with hand signals, to the "setter", on the right, operating the carriage, where and how much to cut. For I.W. Johnson Engineering Company. (Fortune Magazine, April 1934)

Saws; Mills--Packwood--1940-1950; Logs; Lumber industry--Packwood--1940-1950; Woodcutting--Packwood--1940-1950;

This aerial view of the "head of the bay" (the south end of the Foss Waterway) shows the Tacoma Boat Building Company and the Reliance Lumber company (to the right) as they appeared in March of 1947. The Northern Pacific Railroad roundhouse can be seen at 2211 East D Street, just above Tacoma Boat. Tacoma Boat were the exclusive designers and manufacturers of "Northern Dragger" winches, "North" purse seine winches, "Northern" anchor winches and "Northern" purse seine and dandelion blocks. They built wood and steel trollers, purse seiners and tuna clippers. (T. Times, 2/26/47, p. 9-B).

Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma); Railroad roundhouses--Tacoma; Aerial photographs;

Cascade Pole Co. manufactured poles and posts using Tacoma lumber. They manufactured their own creosote, and pressure creosoted their products for longer durability. Victor C. Monahan was President and J. R. McFarland was the Vice-President. Exterior view of Cascade Pole Co., a pole is being shaped using this machine.

Logs; Lumber--Tacoma; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Machinery; Cascade Pole Co. (Tacoma);

Cascade Pole Co. manufactured poles and posts using Tacoma lumber. They manufactured their own creosote, and pressure creosoted their products for longer durability. Victor C. Monahan was President and J. R. McFarland was the Vice-President. Exterior view of Cascade Pole Co., logs are being brought into the plant by the railroad car.

Logs; Lumber--Tacoma; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad freight cars--Tacoma; Cascade Pole Co. (Tacoma);

Cavanaugh Lumber was owned by Cecil Cavanaugh. In 1931 they had a fire that destroyed most of their plant and a significant amount of their stock. They were able to rebuild and expand their business. View of unidentified man from Cavanaugh Lumber unloading plywood using a tool that measures the width of plywood, from company truck, photo ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association.

Plywood; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cavanaugh Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma);

Leo Olsen lost the use of his legs to infantile paralysis when he was 9 years old, but he was determined to be part of WWII. Although a tailor by trade, and a pianist, he found work at the Olin Coporation aluminum plant, on the tide flats, running one of the giant cranes that towered over the electric furnaces. This photograph of Mr. Olsen at the controls of his crane was taken in June of 1944 for the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce. (T. Times, 6/27/44, p. 2). Tacoma Chamber of Commerce Manpower publicity at Olin Corp.

Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Handicapped persons--Tacoma; Olin Industries, Inc. (Tacoma); Olsen, Leo;

Tacoma Boat Facilities. Interior of Tacoma Boatbuilding Co. plant. Elaborate machiery was used for boatbuilding. TPL-6651

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma);

Tacoma Boat Facilities. Meeting the Army and Navy compliance for the wood and diesel type ships is an important part of the building process for Tacoma Boatbuilding Co. TPL-8862

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma);

Tacoma Boat Facilities. Wood and Diesel ships were built by Tacoma Boatbuiling Co. for new Army and Navy fleets. This view shows stockpiles of lumber at Reliance Lumber Co. adjacent to Tacoma Boatbuilding Co.

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Lumberyards-- Tacoma; Reliance Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

Pacific Carbide exterior and interior for record. On March 4, 1944 E. F. Goodner of Pacific Carbide & Alloys Co. announced that the plant would close down for an indefinite amount of time. The plant employed 65 people. Exterior view of plant.

Coke industry--Tacoma; Pacific Carbide & Alloys Co. (Tacoma);

Coke plant interior and exterior for Wilkeson Products. The Wilkeson Products Coke plant is an affiliate of the St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company and only uses Wilkeson coal, the only coking coal in Washington. TPL-7988

Coke industry--Tacoma; Wilkeson Co. (Tacoma);

Series of Wilkeson Products interior and exterior mine photographs. Jim "Corkie" Kelly, miner's lamp shining, was pictured at the working face of the Wilkeson Products mine on March 18, 1944. The ladder to the right accessed a chute which was being driven up the coal seam. The large heavy sawn timbers held up the roof above Mr. Kelly's head. The Wilkeson Products mine had a short life span of less than two years. The U.S. government had pumped in money to support the coal industry during WWll with the intention of helping the war effort. The mine was built in 1943 using the best construction and equipment possible but was only able to produce 54,000 tons of coal. Two miners, Jack Cloves Smith and Harold E. Barber, lost their lives at the mine. (Kombol, Bill, "When Coal Was King," Voice of the Valley, p. 5, 1-3-2012) TPL-6618

Coke industry--Wilkeson; Coal mining--Wilkeson; Coal miners--Wilkeson; Wilkeson Coal & Coke Co. (Wilkeson); Kelly, Jim; World War, 1939-1945--Economic & industrial aspects--Wilkeson;